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Channel: Rex Reed – Observer
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Mary Kay Place’s Subtle, Moving Performance Saves ‘Diane’ From Ho-Hum Tedium

Nothing happens in 'Diane,' yet cogent questions about good deeds, death and aging arise.

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Olivia Wilde Goes Full Charles Bronson in the Brutal Revenge Thriller ‘A...

In 'A Vigilante,' Olivia Wilde plays a renegade feminist dedicated to saving women and children in peril and destroying the men who abuse them.

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‘The Chaperone’ Is a Sublime Account of Flapper Icon Louise Brooks’ Early Life

Reviews might be 'mixed,' but don't let that deter you. 'The Chaperone' is a movie to savor.

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It’s Time to Bury ‘Pet Sematary’ (and Its Stupidly Misspelled Title) Once and...

The new revival of 'Pet Sematary' is your routine, cornball summer-scare flick that can't wait for summer.

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‘The Public’ Is a Well-Intentioned but Heavy-Handed Parable About the Homeless

In the end, Emilio Estevez's 'The Public' fails to inspire much sympathy for the homeless, abandoning its good intentions for the disenfranchised.

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Broadway’s Latest ‘Oklahoma!’ Revival Is a Gimmicky Travesty with Corn Bread

The landmark 1943 Rodgers and Hammerstein production that marked the beginning of a new era in American musicals has now been cheapened and vulgarized at New York's Circle in the Square Theatre.

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Rooney Mara Is Lost at Sea in Garth Davis’ Dull-as-Dirt ‘Mary Magdalene’

Mary was present to witness the crucifixion and the first to see Jesus after his resurrection. So why is 'Mary Magdalene' more about Jesus than Mary?

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It’s Impossible to Resist the Show-Tune-Loving Teenage Caveman in ‘William’

There is more sweetness and humanity in 'William' than in most of cinema's recent time-wasters.

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Ethan Hawke’s Heist Comedy ‘Stockholm’ Is a Disaster in More Ways Than One

Beware of any film that begins with the words "based on an absurd but true story."

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Adam Driver’s Alpha-Male Histrionics Nearly Extinguish the Passion in ‘Burn...

Even if 'Burn This' offers more ashes than flames, it's a fine chance to experience how bracing it is to hear real people saying real things.

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Gugu Mbatha-Raw’s Futuristic ‘Fast Color’ Is One Hour and Forty Minutes of...

The title 'Fast Color' is just as meaningless as everything else in the movie.

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Chrissy Metz’s Unconvincing ‘Breakthrough’ Comes Off More Like a Sermon Than...

A terrific cast is the only thing that saves 'Breakthrough' from last rites.

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Laurie Metcalf Devours Her Role Like a Room Service Sirloin in ‘Hillary and...

Laurie Metcalf looks and sounds nothing like Hillary Clinton, yet in her role in Broadway's 'Hillary and Clinton' she is, as always, nothing less than mesmerizing.

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Tracy Letts and Annette Bening’s ‘All My Sons’ Is the Best Show of the...

This is as good as it gets.

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‘Tootsie’ Is the Same Kind of Tasteless, Cartoonish Broadway Musical It Sets...

Its rhyming of 'real good' with 'Gielgud' is a prime example of why 'Tootsie' is dead on arrival.

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‘Beetlejuice’ Will Leave You With a Headache No Amount of Excedrin Can Cure

Everyone in the cast has been hired according to how loud they can scream, which they do in an eardrum-shattering collection of what some people call music.

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Kristen Stewart and Laura Dern Will Confuse the Hell Out of You in ‘J.T. LeRoy’

In 'J.T. LeRoy,' Laura Dern is never less than fascinating (even in Gothic raspberry wigs), but Kristen Stewart mumbles her way through the proceedings in a state of near catatonia.

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‘Lockdown’ Takes on America’s Unjust, Overcrowded Prison System

Cori Thomas' 'Lockdown' cries out for change in the penal system. It's a good premise, but not a very good play.

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Dennis Quaid Takes a Trip to the Dark Side in Wacko Thriller ‘The Intruder’

Yes, fans, this time he's the villain. Playing against type, he's good at that, too.

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‘Tolkien’ Is Another Ho-Hum Biopic With the Tempo of a Funeral Dirge

Maybe Tolkien had a fascinating life story full of anecdotes that inspired his future work, but it isn't told here.

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